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“Also, the types of players we have are guys who will go at people one vs one and use real pace. There will be more contact in the box and more fouls given up in and around the box. That’s just the way it is.”

Neilson, whose side will leap to the Premiership summit for at least 24 hours if they beat St Johnstone on Saturday, has also dismissed any suggestion that Hearts condone players acting dishonestly in the box.

Hearts' Jamie Walker falls in the box in front of Kieran Tierney forcing a penalty

He added: “No, not at all. The players at Hearts are instructed to entertain the fans. We want them to go at opponents in one vs one situations. If people are going to foul them, then it’s a foul. That’s it.

“You don’t want to get to the stage in football where nobody wants to take anybody on. Then you won’t see any fouls or contact.

“Tynecastle is about entertaining people, and to entertain people you have to take opponents on. You need to run at players at pace and provide entertainment in one vs one situations. Our players do that, which is exactly what we want them to do.

“We just have to stay with the players and keep them going. We’ll try to keep ourselves up near the top of the league. The longer we can do that, the better it will be for us.”